Your Post-Secondary Decision

Your Post DecisionSecondary

Q&A with the Caleon Twins

Were you a part of any school clubs or activities? Why is it so important that students get involved?

During our early years all the way up to high school we were involved in a few extracurricular activities such as volleyball, ultimate frisbee, dance team, choir, and band. We find that it's important for students to get involved as it teaches them many life skills — one main skill being time management. Also, skills learned in the classroom can be applied to many extracurricular activities — teaching students to be more well-rounded.

Understanding you started your YouTube careers as first-year students, how did you find balance between classes, YouTube, and mental health?

We made it a point to establish what was a priority to us. We always knew that school would come first. If we had several assignments and tests in the same week, we'd put off filming for our social media accounts. At one point in

time, we went a couple of months without posting just so that we could concentrate on studying. Besides this, we made sure we made time for ourselves by doing things we enjoyed doing. Family time was a big thing for us, and stepping aside from social media and even studying for a couple of hours in a day to spend time with our family was something we'd do to make sure that we were taking care of our mental health.

What is your biggest piece of advice for incoming students?

The biggest piece of advice we could give to incoming students would be to take care of your physical and mental well-being. Post-secondary school can be stressful and very overwhelming at times, and we think it's so important that students are in a good place mentally and physically in order to put their best self forward in tackling what post-secondary school brings.

Finding the U in Uni

Project Uni tackles the big questions of post-secondary education. Today, we’re answering: “How do I pick the best university?”

Alex Kearn, Co-Founder & Director of Communications, Project Uni

The modern post-secondary-bound student faces a daunting road. With applications in full swing, students encounter the same questions as those before them — most famously, “What’s the best university?”

While many have their own “factual” ranking, the answer is subjective in nature. Different students have different needs to prosper in a post-secondary environment. Let’s examine some key criteria to find your best university.

Academics and opportunity

Academic excellence is the most important tenet of any university. Researching teaching styles (for example, lecture-style versus flipped classroom), mandatory courses, electives, and difficulty helps gauge what

might be a good fit for you. Contacting current students and alumni with real experience via social media is invaluable here. Think about career opportunities you can take advantage of at a given university. For example, attending one school may offer certain business opportunities, while another may offer political prospects.

Housing and lifestyle

Attending higher education can significantly impact your lifestyle, with the big choice being between staying at home or on campus. Living on campus, you’ll enjoy more independence, comfortable scheduling, and networking. But campus living also means evaluating housing prices, location, access to grocery stores, potentially sharing an apartment, and so on. Living at home gives you the

luxury of being with family and generally having fewer living expenses. However, living at home could mean less independence, and having to account for transportation.

Campus and community Carefully consider the school’s campus and its attendees. If you’re paying to be there, then you should enjoy being there. Take a tour of schools you plan to attend — visit lecture halls, labs, and classrooms. Is there a gym nearby? Is the library quiet and well-kept? Is the campus navigable and well-connected? Consider the student reputation — do you prefer party schools or academic schools? Furthermore, the quality of staff and student support within your desired faculty or program is key to success. Websites and student opinions are priceless here!

Read the full interview online at yourcareer guide.ca

If applying to university is hard and you want to make it easier, check out projectuni.net and our Program Decision Matrix to find your best university.

Publisher: Sarah Ferreira Business Development Manager: Chelsea Siemon Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Kylie Armishaw Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar

from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Star or its editorial departments.

Your students deserve built-in accessibility

Mediaplanet sat down with Samantha and Madeleine Caleon, who shared their advice for students as they transition to post-secondary life.

Education Interrupted? New Pathway Available at the University of Toronto Scarborough

Pursuing a university education can be daunting, especially for those who have faced obstacles in completing a high school diploma or attaining other admissions prerequisites. The Transitional Year Programme at the University of Toronto Scarborough is making university education accessible to those who have faced educational barriers.

The new Transitional Year Programme at the University of Toronto Scarborough (TYP@ UTSC) offers a pathway for Black and Indigenous adults, as well as other groups who have experienced barriers to education.

The nine-month program focuses on building community among the adult students enrolled as they undertake a series of university courses with extensive support. Additional noncredit workshops help to demystify university and build academic skills. Those who successfully complete the program are immediately eligible to enrol as a degree-seeking student if they choose.

Returning to school can be intimidating. The program understands that and has a team of people supporting students — even offering help with completing the admissions application. Staff are on hand to provide academic advising, accessibility accommodations, mental health support, career planning strategies, financial advice, and more.

UTSC,” he said, shortly before completing the program. “I don’t want to leave. Everyone is helping each other.” As a new English speaker, Samanera built confidence with the help of writing support, professors, and his peers.

The original Transitional Year Programme on the St. George campus was established over 50 years ago by Black and Indigenous community educators and graduate students. They wanted to increase the numbers of Black and Indigenous students enrolled at the University of Toronto and to provide a pathway to more viable employment.

recent step toward rectifying that.”

Tuition, fees, and textbooks will be covered for those admitted to the program. Financial advisors can help identify other funding sources to help with living expenses if necessary, both during the program and after a student progresses into degree studies. “Our goal is to remove as many barriers as possible,” says Dr. Liddle.

Find out more about TYP@UTSC at uoft.me/ typutsc

This article was sponsored by the University of Toronto Scarborough.

“I’ve always wanted to go back to school. I left college after having my child,” says Charmaine Allen. Charmaine spent many years in retail management before enrolling in the pilot year of TYP@UTSC, where Charmaine benefitted from the program’s many supports, including one-on-one writing assistance and advising.

Ven Triratana Samanera is a Buddhist monk who came to Canada from Thailand three years ago. “I love TYP@

Recognizing a need for a similar program to serve residents of the eastern Greater Toronto Area, faculty and staff from both campuses collaborated in the design of TYP@UTSC. The programs share a commitment to activism and community engagement designed to centre Black and Indigenous voices toward the goal of making a university degree more accessible to all disenfranchised adults. This work was made possible by a grant from the University of Toronto’s Access Programs University Fund.

UTSC’s commitment to increasing access for underrepresented populations is not new. “Our campus has been actively engaged in access work with Black communities for the past 16 years,” says Dr. Kathy Liddle, Director of TYP@UTSC. “Black and Indigenous communities have been systematically excluded from higher education for generations. This program is our most

The cornerstone of UTSC's strategic plan is “Inspiring Inclusive Excellence.” It emphasizes embracing and promoting the enriching contributions that come from the diverse backgrounds, ways of knowing, ideas, perspectives, and experiences represented in its community.

TYP@UTSC is actively recruiting Black and Indigenous students, students from LGBTQ2+ communities, sole-support parents, persons with disabilities, and individuals from working-class backgrounds of all ethnicities and communities who have experienced barriers to education. The next cohort will begin studies in September 2022.

“What I learned got me to where I am now and increased my confidence,” says Charmaine. “I’m grateful that a program like this exists. Everyone deserves the chance to learn.”

Thinking of transferring schools or programs? Looking to upgrade your credentials after graduation? How do you make sure your previous studies get recognized so you can take the course credits you’ve already earned with you? The transfer process can be tough to navigate. But you’re not alone. Over 60,000 post-secondary students transfer or upgrade their credentials every year in Ontario. And many of them use ONTransfer. ca to find the information they need about transfer options, connect to transfer specialists across the province, and maximize the number of transfer credits they receive for their previous studies.

Getting help with the transfer process ONTransfer.ca is a free online service funded by the Government of Ontario that provides students with up-to-date information on transfer policies, grade and credit requirements, and admissions contacts for Ontario’s publicly-funded colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes. The website provides an overview of how transfer works, how to explore your options, and what you’ll need to kick-start the process.

So, whether you’re thinking of transferring because your current school or program isn’t a good fit or because you’re looking to increase your employability and longterm career opportunities with additional post-secondary credentials, you shouldn’t have to walk your transfer journey alone.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and some of the barriers you’ve overcome to get to where you are today?

I was living in a friend’s basement in high school and battling with what I now know as severe depression. I felt paralyzed and it hindered me from being present at school. Due to the amount of time that I missed, I went to two different schools before entering alternative learning programs and graduating with passable grades from the City Adult Learning Centre. That experience completely changed my life. It empowered me with choice and freedom to set goals that many looking at my educational background and struggles would’ve easily said were too unrealistic.

Why do you believe that it's so important to increase access to education for underrepresented communities?

Not only is it important to increase access to education, it’s equally important to make sure those resources speak to underrepresented communities, too. We need an edu-

cation that tells the truth: our truths and our history. That's how you show people that they matter. That's how you empower people. Empowered people then feel motivated to chase whatever dream it is that they have because they see that they can. Even in areas where things haven’t been done or seen yet — the knowledge that people who look like them have done what was once thought impossible can make all the difference.

What can institutions, educators, and students do to ensure equal opportunity to educational resources for all of Canada’s youth?

They can advocate for marginalized voices in their lessons and planning. It's so important. There are certain regions and schools that continually seem to get preferential treatment when it comes to funding. There's a glaring discrepancy in that regard when it comes to schools in marginalized communities.

Lindsay

PHOTO COURTESY OF TSN

TSN host and reporter Kayla Grey opens up about her early life, how she was able to find success, and why education needs to be more accessible and speak to Canada’s underrepresented youth.

with Kayla Grey

What I learned got me to where I am now and increased my confidence.

I’m grateful that a program like this exists. Everyone deserves the chance to learn.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UTSC

Global Philanthropists Invest in the Next Generation of Leaders

Anne Papmehl

We need global leadership and knowledge to strengthen the health and resiliency of our communities. The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (Queen Elizabeth Scholars) program brings together global leaders to support scholars as they work to solve the complex challenges of our world.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars program is a project-based scholarship program involving inter-cultural exchanges that encompass international education, discovery and inquiry, and professional experiences. Through a catalytic contribution by the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation and the generous support of a network of partners, today the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program is supporting a growing community of more than 2,000 scholars and building the next generation of global leaders.

During their program, students have the opportunity to further develop their field of study, work-integrated learning, research, leadership, networking, and community engagement skills. About 80 percent of participants are Canadians travelling abroad, while 20 percent are from other countries coming to Canada for stays ranging from three months to three years.

The idea for the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program came about in 2012 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. It's a youth engagement program offered through Community Foundations of Canada, a national leadership organization for Canada’s 191 local community foundations, in collaboration with Rideau Hall Foundation and Universities Canada.

“At the Rideau Hall Foundation, we believe that every sector of Canada’s economy stands to benefit from the contributions and perspectives of the Queen Elizabeth Scholars,” says Teresa Marques, President and CEO of the Rideau Hall Foundation. “The Queen Elizabeth Scholars program allows youth to develop a global outlook, empathy, and understanding — all of which are essential for navigating the complexities of today’s world. The scholars we invest in today will become the leaders and relationship-builders of tomorrow.”

Investment in youth leadership more critical than ever

The recent challenges of the pandemic have showcased how a global community of scholars is making a difference in the world. “The actions youth have taken during the pandemic illuminate their strength as bold leaders, ambitious thinkers, and visionaries of tomorrow,” says Andrew Chunilall, CEO of Community Foundations of Canada.

These strengths will be critical to our future. "Now more than ever is the time to invest in new types of leaders,” says Chunilall. “Through the incredible foresight of global business leader and philanthropist Victor Dahdaleh, the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program continues to mobilize a community of young global leaders who are developing creative solutions for today’s complex challenges.”

Victor Dahdaleh’s leadership in promoting global experiences for youth comes at an opportune time. As we struggle through a global pandemic, cross-border cooperation is at the centre of how we can move forward.

Q&A with the Queen Elizabeth Scholar Recipients

Describe your experience as a Queen Elizabeth Scholar.

What were the high points of the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program for you?

My work is community-based, so what I found amazing was the fact that the program lets you do hands-on research in the country that you visit. In addition to learning the appropriate research methodology and procedures, you also get to know the community, its values, and how the community uses the research.

How has the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program benefited the work you’re doing now?

It’s really built my confidence in talking to people and engaging them in the idea of research that can improve their programs. The data analysis I got to do through the program has given me new tools that I can communicate to the users. Thanks to this exposure I also feel more prepared to look for a job.

Why are programs like the Queen Elizabeth Scholars important?

We, public health professionals, tend to focus on getting educational programs in place without really focusing on the community’s values and behaviours. Then when they don’t get adopted or used, we blame the community. With the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program, you’re not only out in the field gathering data, you're also in close contact with the community and learning what the community values are. That way you’re able to do research that’s useful to the community because you’re linking the science to the reality on the ground.

I was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Scholars for incoming scholars in 2015 when I entered my master’s in computer science program. For my Queen Elizabeth Scholars, I did research and data analysis at Seven Oaks General Hospital in Winnipeg on how to make the staff scheduling more efficient. During that time, I also volunteered at the University of Winnipeg Food Bank and the Silver Mountain Correctional Centre, where I mentored some inmates.

How did the experience help what you’re doing now? Being a Queen Elizabeth Scholar enabled me to expand my horizons and grow my network of connections, which has really benefited me in finding jobs post-graduation. Thanks to my experience and familiarity with medical data, I was able to join Manitoba Health shortly after graduation as a data analyst, and now I’m with the Canada Revenue Agency in Ottawa.

Why is it important to have programs like the Queen Elizabeth Scholars?

One, it helps with tuition and two, it helps you grow your connections. It also exposes you to volunteer opportunities, which can further help grow your connections. Even after you graduate, you are and will always remain a Queen Elizabeth Scholar, and just mentioning that opens doors wherever you go.

How else has the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program benefited you?

It also opened doors to other scholarships, which gave me some financial peace of mind and enabled me to focus on school.

This article was sponsored by Community Foundations of Canada.

To learn more about the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program, visit community foundations.ca/ initiatives/ queen-elizabethscholars

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars program supports the youth of today to become leaders of tomorrow.

Philanthropist Victor Dahdaleh meets with Queen Elizabeth Scholars to discuss their research and role as global leaders.

MICHELE MONROY-VALLE, from Guatemala, is currently pursuing her doctorate in epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan. Through the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program, she created a tool for measuring the outcomes of public health research projects.

OLU OLUGBOJI, from Nigeria, was a Queen Elizabeth Scholar while pursuing his master’s in computer science at the University of Winnipeg.

The actions youth have taken during the pandemic illuminate their strength as bold leaders, ambitious thinkers, and visionaries of tomorrow.

Justice and Sustainability Are the Focus of York University’s Newest Faculty

Janice Tober

Reading daily headlines on how climate change and carbon emissions are devasting our planet can make one feel quite despondent. There's much to do and not a lot of time in which to make positive environmental change.

York University, however, is working to effect change through its Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC), launched in September 2020. The EUC Faculty prepares students to be leaders in sustainability through transformational critical theory, interdisciplinary thinking, and hands-on experiential learning.

Alice J. Hovorka is the EUC Dean and a professor in the faculty. “The EUC Faculty began when a group of students, staff, and faculty members came together with a shared belief that we needed to establish a call to action to address some of the grand challenges that we're facing, whether it's the climate crisis, environmental degradation, or intensive urbanization,” she says. “This was needed not only to do research and teach around these themes, but to inspire others and ourselves to make a difference in the world.”

The EUC Faculty offers three undergraduate degrees, six new undergraduate programs, and two graduate programs. The 60 faculty span the fields of science, social science, the humanities, and the arts.

Working together to make positive change

One of the prime mandates of the EUC Faculty is to bring teams together from different disciplines when approaching sustainability challenges. Programs such as Cities, Regions, Planning; Ecosystem Management; Environmental Arts and Justice; Environmental Science; Global Geography; and Sustainable Environmental Management ensure problems are viewed through an interdisciplinary lens that will give students a broader understanding of a complex issue.

“One of the things that makes EUC distinct is that we aim to look at environmental issues in a holistic way,” says Hovorka. “We cannot put people and process over the planet, but we also need to address any issues around racism, sexism, and classism to ensure that everyone benefits from what we do to create a sustainable world.”

A place for future changemakers

Another main tenet of the EUC Faculty is to train students in the field so that they can mobilize knowledge gained into action and help solve real-world environmental and social issues that affect the planet. Ashraf Hutchcraft is a geography student and research associate in his second year at York University’s EUC Faculty.

Always drawn to geography, Hutchcraft chose York because he felt

aligned with how the EUC Faculty viewed human and social geography. “Sociological issues and environmental issues intersect, and both need to be addressed,” he says. “Geography is so much more than learning landforms and capital cities, and this program gives me a much deeper understanding of the world.”

Hutchcraft believes that he'll be fully prepared to enter the job market once he graduates. “My program not only outlines the world's most pressing challenges, but also how we can provide solutions,” he says. “Plus, EUC offers opportunities for experiential learning — providing actual career placements in the field while we're doing our studies.” Hutchcraft has an internship with EUC’s Costa Rica EcoCampus, Las Nubes. “The reallife training is so tied to what you're learning,” he says. “There's something about reading all of the papers that have been published, and then, when you experience it yourself, you have a more well-rounded perspective.”

The EUC Faculty has connections to 12,000 alumni who are leaders in their field, spanning the globe.

“Our students receive the opportunities and foundational skills they need to succeed in today’s job market,” says Hovorka. “And we've never been at a more pivotal point at which we need to make a difference.”

Experiential Education Takes Students

Janice Tober

Long gone are the days when a professor spoke at the front of a classroom of students with their heads down, madly scribbling pages and pages of notes. Today, students might just find themselves in the field analyzing phosphorus in different sections of soil or examining a city planning proposal with a diverse team offering input.

Experiential learning is now at the forefront of what constitutes a good education — one that prepares students to be career-ready. According to a 2016 report by the Government of Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, “There is growing recognition of the significant role of experiential learning in contributing to a learner’s acquisition of the competencies necessary for 21st century life.”

Learn by doing through experiential education York University’s new Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) is one of the leaders in experiential learning. Students taking part in any of EUC’s six undergraduate programs will find themselves receiving both critical theory and hands-on experience.

Gavin Lee is in his final year at EUC in the Cities, Regions, Planning BES program. He's also taking part in York University’s Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4), an interdisciplinary offering that brings together students

from various programs and faculties to solve issues that have a social impact. “C4 opens up a lot of different opportunities for students to be able to apply their knowledge to real-world problems,” says Lee. “You have the freedom to choose how to navigate through the project with your team and where to take it.”

Lee is working with the City of Markham’s Environmental Advisory Committee on an initiative called “Get Your Lawns Off Gas.” “The city wants to encourage Markham residents to transition over to non-gas-powered lawn maintenance equipment to reduce carbon emissions,” Lee explains.

It's through this type of active community engagement that students get a sense of how they're making an impact.

Experiential training at EUC takes students into the field EUC gives students other opportunities to apply their skills outside of the classroom. For instance, students like Lee also collect real data in the outdoor environment around campus and then conduct experiments inside the lab.

Summer Solmes, meanwhile, has an internship within the EUC Faculty through the Dean’s Changemaker Placements Program, giving her the opportunity to work in an administrative role within a large research project. Solmes is a BES student in Sustainable Environmental Management

and is part of the Ecological Footprint Initiative. “The program looks at how humans are changing the nature of the landscape and what that looks like in numbers,” she says. “This data needs to be interpreted for those who don’t have a background in the field, so that policymakers and decision-makers are equipped to implement change.”

The EUC Faculty also includes field trips, international exchanges, work placements, and — a highlight for many students — time abroad at the University’s Costa Rica EcoCampus. EUC York is the only Canadian university to have an international eco-campus where students train directly in the field, studying everything from the politics surrounding water to human migration patterns to biodiversity monitoring.

Seeing education in a different way While the many benefits of experiential learning are still being discovered and discussed, it's unequivocally of value to the students who take part in it.

Solmes spoke about her time at York University’s EUC Faculty. “Experiential education is like switching out the old lenses for new ones, to see the world in a different way. It's an opportunity for you to express yourself and be creative, and to learn in a more meaningful way. It's about finding your passion and pursuing it — something that only reading books cannot help you to do.”

Make positive change by applying to the new Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University.

Become a Changemaker for a Just and Sustainable Future

The new Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University is a call to action to respond to today’s most pressing challenges facing people and the planet. Discover career paths that will make a better world. The faculty's programs will prepare you with the fundamental knowledge, critical thinking skills, hands-on experience, and global perspectives necessary to achieve personal success and make positive change.

Cities, Regions, Planning (BES)

We live in an urban world. Learn how inclusive and sustainable planning can help cities and regions around the globe face and manage the social and environmental challenges caused by increased urban life.

CAREER PATHS:

• Urban/Transportation Planner

• Policy Advisor and Consultant

• Planning and Space Assessor

Ecosystem Management with Fleming College (BES)

Learn how we can sustain and revitalize our natural environment through the conservation and restoration of our ecosystems.

CAREER PATHS:

• Land Use Auditor

• Habitat Assessor

• Environmental Consultant

Environmental Science (BSc)

Explore how human activity impacts our planet. Learn how the biological and physical sciences can address the global environmental challenges of our time. This program is offered jointly with the Faculty of Science.

CAREER PATHS:

• Climate Change Scientist

• Hydrologist

• Wildlife Biologist

Environmental Arts and Justice (BES)

Choose a degree that centres on solutions for a just and equitable world. Address global environmental challenges through political, philosophical, artistic, cultural, and educational theory and practice.

CAREER PATHS:

• Artist and Designer

• Cultural Producer

• Diversity and Equity Professional

Global Geography (BA)

Geography is about knowing your world and how it works, from the largest cities to the most remote environments. We apply ways of thinking that bring together the arts and sciences to find solutions to real-world problems.

CAREER PATHS:

• Land Use Auditor

• Habitat Assessor

• Environmental Consultant

Sustainable Environmental Management (BES)

Explore some of the most critical issues facing the earth today: the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, waste management, energy consumption, and sustainable solutions.

CAREER PATHS:

• Environmental Site Assessor

• Energy Consultant

• Green Entrepreneur

Students

Keri Damen Executive Director, The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking

Calgary’s

Anne Papmehl

To think like an entrepreneur is to see things differently from the rest of the world and come up with innovative solutions to problems. While it's an inherent trait in some people, entrepreneurial thinking is a skill that most people can acquire.

“Traditionally, people have seen entrepreneurship as something that is ingrained,” says Keri Damen, Executive Director of The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary. “But by understanding the process of finding and validating an opportunity and having the right education, resources, and mentors, entrepreneurial thinking can be learned. We can guide students on how to identify opportunities, marshal resources to capitalize on them, and glean insights from customers and setbacks to move a solution forward.”

That's the focus of The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking. Through academic, co-curricular, and talent programs, along with immersive challenges, competitions, hackathons, and hands-on workshops, The Hunter Hub helps students to develop their entrepreneurial capabilities and enhance their career prospects in a safe, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary environment.

to make sure that our students can get hired easily by startups and be part of that global talent stream,” says Damen.

This is where Experience Ventures comes in. A newly launched national work placement pilot program powered by The Hunter Hub, Experience Ventures is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative. Its aim is to support both students and startups by creating a talent funnel from the university to the local innovation ecosystem.

Creating talent funnel from university to local innovation ecosystem

Through Experience Ventures paid placements, students can hone the entrepreneurial thinking and digital skills they need to be future ready. The fast-paced nature of the work enables them to learn many different functions more quickly than they would in a traditional, structured environment. At the same time, participating companies benefit from fresh perspectives and insights, at no cost to them.

As a national, integrated effort, joining together post-secondary institutions, students, and startups or social ventures, Experience Ventures is helping to build multi-disciplinary innovation networks and a diverse talent pool. Startups gain easier access to talent, while students gain easier access to innovation networks that can use their skills and form the connections they’ll need to find future work opportunities.

The ability to make an impact — for both students and startups — is another key program feature. “Today’s students are very interested in creating an impact, especially related to sustainable development, diversity, and social justice goals,” says Damen.

Fewer paid employment opportunities for students during pandemic With the current COVID-19 crisis, entrepreneurial thinking has never been more important. “I think the pandemic has underscored the extreme need for adaptive capabilities and entrepreneurial thinking skills, such as resilience, problem solving, innovating under constraints, and working across disciplines,” says Damen.

The pandemic also radically altered the world of work and how Canadian post-secondary students obtain employment opportunities where they could learn these vital skills. “Students are really struggling to get job experience, especially paid job experiences, because there are fewer opportunities now,” says Damen.

Similarly, many startups that need young talent have been challenged by less access to traditional recruitment avenues like in-person job fairs and cash flow constraints that affect their ability to hire. “On the positive side, the pandemic has opened up the talent field globally and made it more competitive, but to capitalize on this benefit, we need

“They have a chance to do that with Experience Ventures since many of the placements involve working with real-world innovators in solving realworld problems.” says Damen. For the hiring companies, it’s an opportunity to amplify the impact of their innovations and be energized with the next generation of talent.

As the Experience Ventures program evolves, The Hunter Hub is finding ways to innovate around the format, time frame, and types of work opportunities to increase accessibility for both parties. “We’re trying to make the placements shorter and more flexible, given that students interested in doing some work-integrated learning may not have a full free semester, or the startup may not have a perfect fourmonth project,” says Damen.

Students of all disciplines, including the arts, are encouraged to participate.

“We need to include students and professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to create the transdisciplinary innovation economy of the future. Being able to identify a potentially viable and exciting career option after getting some experience with a social or tech venture can be very empowering to a student,” says Damen.

Relentless innovation needed to assure continued wealth and prosperity

To ensure our continued wealth and prosperity, Canada needs to be innovating constantly. Attracting early talent to growing innovation communities ensures that steady pipeline of innov-

ation talent, and Experience Ventures is bridging students and schools with opportunities in the new world of work.

Experience Ventures will run from Summer 2021 to Winter 2022 in collaboration with nine post-secondary school partnerships across Canada and is available to students from all levels and disciplines. It's open to all students attending the University of Calgary, the partner participating post-secondary institutions, and students outside of these institutions.

The University of

Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking connects students to local innovation ecosystems and startups to gain valuable future-ready skills.

think the pandemic has underscored the extreme need for adaptive capabilities and entrepreneurial thinking skills, such as resilience, problem solving, innovating under constraints, and working across disciplines.

Community Projects Help Prepare Business Students for Career Success

Theoretical learning is invaluable, but research has shown that practical knowledge — or experiential learning — can give students a much deeper understanding of a concept through hands-on, personal experience.

Brock University’s Goodman School of Business has embraced this understanding, offering its students a variety of experiential learning projects that are built into classes and that enable students to work in teams as student consultants and to provide important insights for local organizations.

Paired with local organizations, Goodman students are tasked with real-life projects that coincide with their studies, including delivering business pitches, conducting marketing research and development, developing and running social

media campaigns, and participating in personnel recruitment processes. These opportunities allow students to apply their critical thinking skills and knowledge to practical endeavours, strengthening their problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills and preparing them for the workforce post-graduation. The partnerships and practical work experiences also allow students to build their networks while giving back to their community.

Each year more than 2,880 Goodman students are involved in these projects, which are highly valued by the community. The experiential projects equate to the work of 665 full-time equivalent employees, providing a value of $30 million a year to community partners.

How is applied learning setting Goodman apart?

The students need to be able to apply what they’ve learned to the real world. We offer them the chance to connect classroom knowledge to day-to-day business activities. By doing so, they understand everything better than if they’d just studied it in a textbook. We believe experiential learning is what the future of education looks like.

Why are community connections important?

Most of the businesses in this area are small to medium in size and usually understaffed, so it’s helpful for them to access our resourceful and knowledgeable students. In turn, students get to apply core concepts and strategies to situations where they have the chance to make a real difference. They get to see their hard work pay off.

How is Goodman preparing students to enter the business world after graduation?

We aim to provide students with the most up-to-date courses that coincide with what employers are currently looking for.

Our grads enter the job market confidently because they already have experience in their field, which sets them ahead.

With an established atmosphere of discovery across diverse disciplines,¬ combining leading researchers and academics with some of Canada’s most outstanding academic and research facilities, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has the bold vision to confront the world’s “wicked problems.”

A member of the U15 group of Canadian top research-intensive universities, USask aims to leverage inspired communities, courageous curiosity, and boundless collaboration to address humanity’s greatest challenges and opportunities.

What would you say to a prospective student about experiential learning?

If you have the opportunity to do an experiential learning activity at Brock, give it your all. The course layouts thoughtfully merge lectured learning directly with simulations and community partnerships. Plus, the professors are amazingly supportive.

What was it like to work with a local business?

It was incredible to help a business with something they actually needed assistance with.

They’re putting their trust in you, which is a lot of responsibility. You learn how to conquer your fears and listen to your instincts. A huge reason why I could get a job out of school was because I already had this experience on my resume.

What was the biggest takeaway you gained from your community-based project?

I learned to communicate with coworkers, to clearly define goals, and to achieve them. Beyond any other assignment or courses, what I learned in my community-based project is what’s most applicable to my job today.

There are several notable, and possibly unexpected, aspects of USask that are worth highlighting.

World-leading disease research and vaccine development

USask’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) is a world leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development. While it

The University of Saskatchewan: The University the World Needs

University Communications

gained national prominence during the pandemic as a leader in developing COVID-19 vaccines, VIDO has been researching and developing vaccines for decades. Over its history, VIDO has developed eight commercially-available vaccines, including six world firsts, with four more currently in regulatory development.

VIDO houses one of the world’s largest and most advanced containment level 3 facilities, with a vaccine manufacturing facility now under construction. To strengthen Canada’s response to emerging disease threats, VIDO recently received financial support from municipal, provincial, and federal governments and several private donors to establish a National Centre for Pandemic Research at USask.

Food and water security

Combining global expertise, unprecedented support, and incredible research facilities, USask is leading the search for answers to the world’s most pressing challenges of food and water security, ensuring that future generations have the necessities of life, across the globe.

Research in food and water security at USask occurs throughout the university within an innovation ecosystem that involves government,

industry, and other partners, focusing on providing solutions that tackle local-to-global scale problems affecting water and food.

USask is ranked number one for water research among Canadian universities and leads the world’s largest university-led international freshwater research program, Global Water Futures, with more than 170 partners worldwide.

Canadian Light Source synchrotron Recognized as “the brightest light in Canada,” USask’s Canadian Light Source (CLS) is a national research facility with a focus on innovation in the health, agriculture, environment, and advanced materials sectors.

The CLS has contributed to worldchanging research in the disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and geology, among many others, providing researchers with a depth and breadth of knowledge unique to the only science facility of its kind in Canada.

Campus experience

Anyone studying and working at or visiting the main USask campus in Saskatoon, a city known for its arts, culture, and innovation, will notice the beauty of the university and its surroundings.

The historic campus is one of Canada’s most beautiful, with plenty of green space, stately greystone buildings, tree-lined walkways, and breathtaking river views. Embodying

USask’s well-rounded approach to being “the university the world needs,” the campus boasts welcoming social spaces, seven on-campus museums and art galleries, and some of the nation’s top university sports facilities.

More than 26,000 students from over 100 countries attend USask, finding their study of choice among 130 academic programs that range from agriculture, business, law and arts, and science to engineering, medicine, and many more.

To learn more, visit usask.ca

Saskatchewan.

This article was sponsored by the University of

We chatted with Professor Kai-Yu Wang and previous student Haylee Spiller about their experience with community projects in Goodman’s Internet and Social Media Marketing course:

Brock University’s Goodman School of Business uses experiential education to prepare its students to be future business leaders.

Katherine Cappellacci & Tania Amardeil

To learn more about the Goodman School of Business at Brock University, visit brocku.ca/ goodman

This article was sponsored by the Goodman School of Business.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

USask is leading the search for answers to the world’s most pressing challenges of food and water security, ensuring that future generations have the necessities of life, across the globe.

Kai-Yu Wang Professor & Chair of Marketing, Strategy, & International Business Department

Haylee Spiller Previous Internet and Social Media Marketing student

Helping Educators to Imagine the Future of Teaching and Learning

The way that we work and learn is evolving at breakneck speed. As workplaces and classrooms continue to be challenged and to transform into hybrid models, technology is playing a vital role in creating connected, collaborative, and engaging platforms for the worlds of work and education. And collaboration across industries and institutions is essential in bringing these technologies to bear.

“We work with school boards across the country as well as higher education institutions to help them imagine the possibilities for the future of teaching and learning,” says Dr. Elka Walsh, National Learning and Skills Lead at Microsoft Canada. “We want to empower learners with the skills that they need to thrive both as citizens and in the world of work.”

Defining the future of learning

The shift to hybrid work with distributed teams has put a newfound focus on the need to collaborate and communicate effectively. The same thing is happening in classrooms, with the move to hybrid learning.

“We did some research during the pandemic and found that as learning experiences shifted into online learn-

ing, there was a 60 percent drop in student engagement,” says Dr. Walsh. “Student engagement is so important — it’s a proxy for student success. So we need to think about how we’re engaging students.”

The solution, says Dr. Walsh, is to focus on high-impact learning strategies. “It’s more than just video conferencing,” she says. “It’s about communicating, collaborating, and creating content together.”

Microsoft’s innovative software offerings help to foster collaboration and communication. “Higher education institutions are using technology like the Microsoft Surface Hub — an interactive whiteboard — for example, so both students who are in the room and students joining remotely can collaborate together in real time, creating a really dynamic experience,” says Dr. Walsh.

Microsoft Teams allows students and educators to meet, collaborate, create, and share resources all in one place, while the Microsoft 365 Education suite gives students the tools they need to unlock creativity and promote teamwork.

Removing barriers to education

Microsoft’s software options are also driving inclusion and access to education. “What Teams also enables us to do

is create more inclusive and accessible learning so that every student can participate,” says Dr. Walsh. “When we include OneNote, our classroom note-taking program within Teams, this removes even more barriers so that every single learner can thrive,” says Dr. Walsh. “It includes things like Immersive Reader, Dictate (a speech-to-text feature), and translation technology. These are the kinds of technologies that really remove barriers for students who face any kind of learning disability or hearing barrier as well as international students and newcomers to Canada.”

OneNote

Now is the time to pivot our learning models and to engage every single student, while also removing stigmas and barriers. “We’re at an inflection moment, especially for higher education,” says Dr. Walsh. “Through deep collaboration with industry and post-secondary institutions, we have an opportunity together to transform learning experiences and to imagine the future of what’s possible for our students, and to set them up to thrive in our changing world. We can empower every single student across Canada, and this is our moment to be working together.”

Microsoft is reimagining the classroom of the future and empowering educators and students with its innovative software and strategies for high-impact learning.

Tania Amardeil

What Teams also enables us to do is create more inclusive and accessible learning so that every student can participate.

Surface Laptop SE Surface Hub